Ordinary diners who take part in our annual survey each spring review restaurants and leave their feedback, but we also ask them to score restaurants from 1-5 on food, service and ambience. Harden’s then uses an average of these scores and measures them against other establishments in the same price bracket to arrive at the ratings published in the guide and online.

Snippets from some of your feedback may end up in the overall Harden’s review, noticeably they appear in “double quotation marks”. The rest of our pithy, bite-sized restaurant summaries are compiled by analysing the survey data and extracting recurring themes, looking at whether or not a venue was nominated in any of our categories – like ‘favourite’ or ‘most overpriced’ – and, of course, looking at the ratings for food, service and ambience.

The Harden’s ratings indicate that a restaurant is:

exceptional very good good average poor

All reviews are compiled from survey comments and ratings, without any regard for our own personal opinions, except in cases where restaurants are too new to have been included in the survey. If you want the editors’ view on new restaurants in London you can find them in our Editors’ Review section.

Norwich Restaurant Guide

Harden's Guides have been compiling reviews of the best restaurants in Norwich since 1998.

Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Norwich

Hardens guides have spent 15 years compiling reviews of the best Norwich restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 27 restaurants in Norwich and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Norwich restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.

Farmyard is Norwich's first 'Bistronomy' style eatery; where a relaxed 'bistro' experience meets the top quality produce and vibrant flavours normally found in "gastronomic" fine dining joints. Everything is prepared in our open kitchen, including the sourdough bread, baked ev...

Set in an attractively situated and converted old mill  once home to the business that grew into Colmans Mustard  creates an atmospheric setting for Andy Rudds contemporary-style country venture, where the high standard of cooking means the restaurant regularly seems to be playing to a packed house.

Roger Hickmans quality, flavour and creativity have only one serious rival in the town and its a coin flip between this fine dining establishment and the less buttoned-down Benedicts as to who takes the towns culinary crown. For a more august occasion, the plusher interior here would suit some tastes, and its matched with service thats charming but formal enough.

The views out over the deer park are lovely, at this quirkily styled country pub with a difference. It actually manages to remain a pub (still has a dart board, pool table and regulars drinking at the bar), despite the exquisite food, with much of the meat cooked over an open fire. Good accommodation too.

A real Norwich institution of decades standing, whose punning name references its Victorian shoe factory setting. While primarily known for its excellent wine list with many, many wines by the glass or 250ml/500ml carafe, its cooking is very consistent too.

Richard Bainbridges bistro-style venue punches above its weight when it comes to the quality of his wonderful cooking, be it from the à la carte or the Incredibly enjoyable 6-course and 8-course tasting menus (with meat dishes particularly well reviewed). Fans feel its unbelievable that it doesnt have a Michelin star and it edged its local rival Hickmans in food ratings this year.

Opened in summer 2016, a lovely, friendly Indian veggie, in pleasantly vivid and airy surrounds, thats particularly good at lunchtime; the owners cosier original, Namaste India  also a meat-free Gujarati  is on Opie Street.

You know what to expect and you still get what you pay for at these good staple Asian canteens, which epitomise cheap and cheerful dining and whose reliable and reasonably healthy noodles and curries are great for a speedy, fresh-cooked meal, particularly with kids in tow.